GAME REPORT

Oostende Take Commanding Advantage

BC Telenet Oostende put one foot firmly in the Eurocup after routing Norrköping Dolphins in Sweden on Tuesday.

The side that hosted last year's EuroChallenge Final Four, Oostende rolled to an 88-62 first-leg Qualifying Round triumph in the Stadium Arena Norrköping.

They would have to implode next week at home just for the Dolphins to have a chance of winning the tie.

Jason Rich led six Oostende players in double figures with 19 points.

Trailing 18-12 early in the second quarter after Norrköping's Mikael Lindqvist drilled a shot from the arc, Oostende shifted into a higher gear.

The visitors went in front and then hit the hosts with a three-point shooting barrage.

Dusan Sakota hit two three-pointers and Quentin Serron another as Oostende claimed a 41-32 advantage late in the first half.

Oostende continued to pour in the points after the break, outscoring their Swedish hosts 21-11 in the third quarter for a 63-45 stranglehold on the contest.

Instead of clawing their way back and giving themselves a chance of a comeback in next week's away leg, the Dolphins fell even further behind over the last 10 minutes with the Belgian outfit ultimately claiming a 26-point victory.

Sakota, Serron and Veselin Petrovic each made three shots from long range for the Belgian team.

Dusan Djordjevic, the point guard on Krka Novo Mesto's EuroChallenge title-winning side last season who later joined Oostende, had a team-high eight rebounds and four assists to go with his three points.

COACH QUOTES

Quotes Norrköping Dolphins vs. BC Telenet Oostende

BC Oostende Head Coach Jean-Marc Jaumin:"I already knew from my coaching colleagues in Europe that Dolphins is a tough team to defeat. They can be very dangerous and you have to be on your guard all the way through the game. I missed one or two key players due to injuries. Nevertheless, we managed to win - with 26 points, which was a big and positive surprise to me. In the second half we gave Dolphins a lot of pressure - and that resulted in this major win."

Dolphins Head Coach Paul Burke: "I am very impressed by Oostende, they really gave us some hard time. They did a very good job throughout the game and got after us with force in the second half of the game. It felt almost like a practice game - and we have a lot to do before we meet for the return game in Belgium next week."